Green Party’s Anti-Zionist Vote Tests Its Promise of Inclusion
Members adopted an anti-Zionist policy by 1,022 votes to 813. They also rejected a proposed safeguard for members’ links to synagogues and Jewish groups, leaving the party to show how its promise of inclusion works in practice.
Green Party members have made an anti-Zionist policy official, voting 1,022 to 813 at their conference in Brighton on Sunday. The party says the motion opposes Zionism as an ethnonationalist political project and that anti-Zionism should not be equated with antisemitism. It backs Palestinian self-determination, a single democratic state throughout historic Palestine, a right of return, BDS and a full arms embargo on Israel.
The harder question is how the party applies that distinction at home. LBC reports that delegates rejected an amendment saying the policy should not be used to pressure, proscribe or discipline members because they belong to synagogues or other Jewish groups that describe themselves as Zionist. The amendment’s vote count was not reported.
The party says it remains committed to equality and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment.
From the analysisThis is a party policy decision, not a change in UK law or a national ruling on antisemitism. Supporters say the motion targets a political ideology and Palestinian rights, not Jewish identity. Critics within the party say its language risks division. Four of the party’s five MPs publicly rejected the motion, according to LBC.
A political party can take a firm position on a conflict abroad. It must also set standards that protect members from discrimination and preserve room for disagreement. When a conference rejects a safeguard for members’ links to Jewish institutions, leaders owe those members clear guidance on the boundary between political criticism and discrimination.
The party says it remains committed to equality and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment. It should now explain how that promise works in practice: what counts as conduct, how complaints are judged, and whether membership in a Jewish institution can trigger discipline. The same rules should apply to everyone.
The Semaform
Green Party conference members adopted an anti-Zionist policy on 4 October 2026, voting 1,022 to 813.
The policy’s stated separation of Zionism from Jewish identity needs transparent membership safeguards and fair treatment of dissent.
The party says it opposes an ideology and supports Palestinian rights. Critics say the motion’s language risks division, and four of the five MPs rejected it.
Sources
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